Summary: Developing a global approach to fighting fraud: EU Commissioner VP Kallas visits World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and United Nations (15 December 2005: Brussels)
Commissioner Kallas has just finalised a two-day visit in Washington DC and New York on 12-13 December 2005 to discuss synergies and cooperation with major international donor organisations. He met top officials of World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) on issues related to the fight against fraud and exchange of relevant information. In the United Nations in New York, currently undergoing a major management reform, Vice-President Kallas discussed best practice and experience
gained from the Commission's own radical reform.
Vice-President Siim Kallas declared : "The International Financial Institutions and the European Commission account for the great majority of international aid. Promoting a global approach by international organizations in the fight against corruption and fraud linked to our activities is high on our agenda, as it will be under the Austrian Presidency. It is in our common interest to strengthen our cooperation in order to better protect EU funds, be they managed directly by the EU or by
the international financial institutions on behalf of the EU. Resources available for control are limited and we have to cooperate as closely as possible".
The visit enabled Vice-President Kallas to learn more about the anti-fraud activities of the World Bank and the IADB, as well as to explore the possibilities for closer co-operation with these international bodies and the UN in this field. The international financial institutions like World Bank and IADB have set worldwide standards in their fight against fraud and corruption, and developed special tools of promoting transparency in their daily work. The meetings in particular allowed a
discussion of their use of debarment (black listing) and disclosure schemes as means to prevent fraud.
In the World Bank Commissioner Kallas met European Executive Directors, and Senior Advisors, as well as Mr. Vincenzo La Via, World Bank Chief Financial Officer, and Mrs. Suzanne Folsom, Acting Director of the Integrity Office of the World Bank to discuss audit and debarment. The same subjects were discussed with Mr. Joao Sayad, Vice-President for Finance and Administration and Mr. Ciro de Falco, Executive Vice-President of the Inter American Development Bank.
In New York Commissioner Kallas had an opportunity to discuss best practice of management and administrative reform both in the European Commission and the United Nations organizations. The Commission has initiated its administrative reform in 2000 and will adopt next week a progress report on the progress of the reform, while the United Nations has resolutely engaged the process of reform. Mr Kallas met the head of the UN's internal oversight office Mrs Inga-Britt Ahlenius and Mr
Christopher Burnham, under-secretary general for management and had lunch with Deputy Secretary General Mrs Louise Frechette. Subjects discussed included audit and implementation of recommendations, ethics, whistleblower provisions, and human resources management. Further exchanges between the Commission and the UN on these topics and exchanges between OLAF and the UN on investigations are envisaged.
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